Today we’ve arrived at one of the smallest Brazilian towns we’ll visit, Maceio. During the wintertime, Macieo’s population is around 350,000. During the vacation season of December and January, the population is near 1 million with visitors from all around Brazil and other South American countries. The view from the…

After sailing from Fortaleza yesterday evening, we’ve arrived mid-afternoon at Recife, nearly the farthest eastern point on the South American continent. Recife is a large city, with over 3.7 million inhabitants. With no organized tour planned, we opted to get off the ship and walk from the pier into the…

After a relaxing day at sea yesterday, we’re docked at the container port in Fortaleza, Brazil by 12 noon. We’re one of the first groups ashore as we embark on our ship’s excursion “Cachaca: The ‘Rum’of Brazil”. We’ll travel about an hour outside of Fortaleza to a farming area where…

We’ve reached our first port-of-call in Brazil, the city of Belem, about 60 miles inland from the Atlantic ocean on the Para River. This city is the gateway to the Amazon, and the 11th largest city in Brazil with about 2.2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area. Being this…

After joining the Crystal Symphony for a 12-day sailing from Barbados to Rio De Janeiro, we’ve arrived at our first port-of-call, Devil’s Island, French Guiana. This small group of islands was originally known as the Ile d Salut, or Islands of Salvation because they offered better health conditions than the…

After leaving Denver just after midnight, we flew to Miami to catch our connecting flight to Bridgetown, Barbados. Arriving at around 3pm to a downpour, we quickly cleared customs and were on our way in a taxi to Cobbler’s Cove, a Relais and Chateau property on the northwest coast. Driving…

On Monday, we’re up early, bags out at 7:30, breakfast at 8:00 and disembark/transfer at 10:00. By 11:00 we’re nearing the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon and the largest city in Vietnam. To Americans, Saigon means the Vietnam war – the capital of the Republic of South…

After mooring mid-stream overnight, we’re headed ashore via local boats to Sa Dec were we visit both on-water and on-land markets. The boats in the floating version of the market display their products (mangos, fish, chicken, etc.) by hoisting one of the product up a large pole. In the street…

Crossing into Vietnam, we’re now entering the Mekong Delta. This delta is famous for its agricultural production, providing nearly half of Vietnam’s rice harvest and making the country the second largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand. This area of some 15,000 square miles is also known for fish farms,…

After a rather somber ending to our time in Phnom Penh at the Killing Fields and S21, we unfortunately must bid goodbye to our Cambodian tour guides. These 4 have been with us since we first arrived in Siem Reap nearly a week ago. It’s been great traveling with them,…